


I weep for wonder wand'ring far

by HopefulNebula



Series: Of shadows on the stars [2]
Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Leadership, Pre-Series, Present Tense, Team Bonding, away mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 01:54:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13020759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopefulNebula/pseuds/HopefulNebula
Summary: Captain Georgiou needs to make sure her crew can work together before a crisis makes it necessary. She didn't think the crisis would present itself so conveniently.





	I weep for wonder wand'ring far

**Author's Note:**

  * For [weakinteraction](https://archiveofourown.org/users/weakinteraction/gifts).



"Both of us, Captain?" Burnham asks. Her eyebrow is raised high enough that it's almost hidden by her hair.

"Along with Lieutenant Saru, yes," the captain replies. "There are enough large animals on this planet that we'll need at least three people present to ensure safety as we conduct the survey."

"Starfleet protocol regarding away missions dictates that the captain and first officer should not be off the ship at the same time," Commander Burnham replies. Even her "at ease" posture manages to signal unease.

"Starfleet _practice_ regarding away missions gives captains a great deal of latitude in the matter of team selection. We're going to the planet."

The commander frowns. "I fail to see the benefit of taking the three highest ranking crew members on a simple survey mission."

Captain Georgiou bites back a sigh. "Crew cohesion," she says. "You've been here for nearly a month now and I want the chance to work closely with you outside the ship _before_ a crisis makes it necessary."

Commander Burnham looks like she's going to say something, but reconsiders the words. Finally, she says "I'll meet you in the shuttle bay at 0900 hours, then. If you don't mind...?"

"Dismissed," the captain says. "Make sure to send Lieutenant Saru in when you leave. I want to talk to him about the effects the planet's atmosphere will have on our communications."

The commander turns in a swift, graceful motion, and the door slides open in front of her.

* * *

Before either woman can ask Lieutenant Saru what just made his threat ganglia extend, the alarms on the away team's survey equipment all sound at once.

Commander Burnham, being the one currently monitoring the survey equipment, silences the alarms and reads the report from her uplink. "I'm detecting mild seismic activity of some kind. Sensors indicate the epicenter is near our landing site, but I can't be more specific from this distance without having more data points to triangulate."

Captain Georgiou pulls out her communicator. "Georgiou to _Shenzhou_. We may have some trouble near our landing site and could use some more detailed scans."

Only quiet static emits from the small speaker.

" _Shenzhou_ , this is Captain Georgiou. Please respond."

Further silence.

"Lieutenant Januzzi, do you copy?"

When it becomes obvious that no response is forthcoming, the captain turns toward the other members of the away team.

"It appears we aren't getting those detailed scans anytime soon. Whatever happened may have interfered with the shuttle's comm amplifier. The ship isn't expecting to hear from us for another four hours, so let's head back and find out what we can."

"Captain?" Lieutenant Saru says. "May I suggest that the two of you wait here while I investigate?"

"Not a chance. We're staying together."

Before Saru can protest the decision himself, Burnham interjects. "Captain, if we all walk there with our equipment, it would take us 3.52 hours to reach the landing site. If we leave the equipment here, it would take less time, but we would have to return here to access our supplies. If Lieutenant Saru runs on his own, he could get there and back in twenty minutes."

Captain Georgiou stifles a smile. Part of the reason she'd suggested this excursion in the first place was the tension between her two senior officers. If Commander Burnham is this quick to stand up for someone she's been fighting with for a month, it means that the captain's faith in her is indeed well deserved.

"Go, then. Check in with us every ten minutes. And Lieutenant... be safe."

Saru grabs his communicator and tricorder, ensures his phaser is holstered at his side, and sets off at a run in the direction of their shuttle. By the time the captain turns back to Burnham, the commander is examining their sensor equipment with an almost devious expression on her face.

* * *

"You are _not_ taking that apart, Commander," Georgiou says, several minutes later.

"I can use its components to create an amplifier that should allow us to communicate with the ship," Burnham replies.

"And you'd risk damaging or destroying the rest of the components in the process. This is not so urgent a crisis that we can't wait for Lieutenant Saru to apprise us of the situation before we act."

"Very well, Captain."

"Good. Now that we've settled the matter, there's something I've been meaning to ask you." Michael looks up from the sensor equipment. "You've been with us for several weeks, and I haven't seen you make an effort to get to know any of your crewmates. I understand that for a first officer on a Vulcan ship this would be normal, but in Starfleet the crew needs you to be accessible to them. So how do we make that happen? What do you need from me?"

Burnham visibly flinches, in perhaps the most emotional display Georgiou has seen from the woman. Georgiou wonders whether this is the first time anyone has asked Burnham what _she_ needs. "I… I’m not sure," she says, but before either of them can continue the conversation, Georgiou's communicator chimes.

"What have you found, Lieutenant?" the captain asks. According to the embedded chronometer, it's only been eight minutes since he started running.

"It's a sinkhole, Captain. It appears we overestimated the stability of the cave system below the landing zone."

Georgiou winces. She knows the answer to her next question, but she has to ask anyway. "And the shuttle?"

"Gone. I'm reluctant to approach, but the hole is approximately twenty meters in diameter, and I hear running water inside."

"Don't get any closer. Follow your original route back here," the captain orders.

"Understood, Captain. Estimated arrival at your location in ten minutes."

The comm signal clicks off, and Georgiou looks back at her first officer. "If you were the captain in this situation, what would you do?" she asks, and is rewarded with another stunned look.

Burnham's recovery from this shock is much faster, however. "Since this planet's climate is temperate and _Shenzhou_ is due to check in with us well before nightfall, I would consider continuing our survey until they realize they can't reach us and scan for our life signs. Given the circumstances, however, it would be prudent to ensure a prompt rescue using the means at our disposal."

"I agree. Let's start by gathering the parts we'll need, so we can assemble the amplifier when Saru returns."

The commander nods and gets to work. Someday soon, Captain Georgiou will have to ask her initial question again, but it can't be today.

* * *

By the time Saru returns, the captain and commander have thoroughly disassembled the auxiliary portable sensor unit and are sorting its components. His eyes grow wide for a moment as he processes the scene. Finally, he kneels down and says "If you want to boost the signal enough to reach the ship, I recommend using the protective casing from the toolkit as a base."

"Excellent thinking, Lieutenant," the captain responds. "Glad you made it back in one piece. Commander Burnham was just telling me about the tidal forces on Vulcan."

"Really?" Saru asks as he removes the inner lining of the toolkit and sets the outer shell on the ground before them. "I would have thought that none of the bodies of water on Vulcan are large enough to have tides."

"Not as most planets do," Burnham responds. "However, the size and proximity of T'Khut have a pronounced impact on the size of the waves. More to the point, most of the water on Vulcan is deep underground and flows between caverns based on tidal forces."

"And you think that's what happened here," the lieutenant says. "It makes sense, given the planet's large moons."

"It's also reasonable to assume that something in the planet's crust was fooling our sensors," adds Georgiou. "Just think: by losing our shuttle, we've opened up a whole new layer of this world."

Saru raises his head. "I'm interested in learning more about whatever material was interfering with our scanners. Which of you has the wire splicer?"

Captain Georgiou lets out a breath. Even without completing the stated objective of this away mission, she can't help feeling like this moment has made it a success.

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from James Agee's poem "[Sure On This Shining Night](https://allpoetry.com/Sure-On-This-Shining-Night)". More specifically, from Morten Lauridsen's [stunning choral arrangement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoKr2S-AGG8) of same.


End file.
